TWN News 1st November 2026

TWNNEWS

TWN News Weekly Digest

Week ending Sunday, 1 November 2026 · News from across Nigeria and Africa

NGX All-Share Index 247,222.27 (down 0.13% on the week) Market capitalisation ₦160.52 trillion Year-to-date return 58.87% Dangote Cement ₦1,111.00 (up 10% on Friday) First HoldCo ₦144.10 (up 10% on Friday) Fidelity Bank up 14.01% on the week Oil & Gas Index 6,035.77 (down 2.55%) Banking Index 2,515.47 (down 0.67%)

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SPECIAL REPORT · AGRICULTURE

Cassava: Nigeria's sleeping giant

The world's biggest producer imports the starch and ethanol its own farms could supply.

Nigeria grows more than 60 million tonnes of cassava a year, more than any other country, according to NAERLS figures cited by the Lagos Business School's Nigeria Cassava Investment Accelerator (NCIA). Most of it ends up as garri and fufu. The real money is in what happens after the farm gate.

The export gap

In 2023 Nigeria exported only about 5,000 tonnes of cassava products, under 1% of its output. Thailand, which grows about half as much, exported around 7 million tonnes of cassava derivatives, roughly 21% of its production. China imports more than 3.8 million tonnes of cassava starch a year and about 5 million tonnes of chips, a trade worth over $1 billion at prevailing prices near $222 per tonne. The EU buys another 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of starch. NCIA says some buyers want to diversify away from Thai and Vietnamese supply, which leaves room for reliable Nigerian suppliers.

Starch: a demand gap at home

A PwC Nigeria study found domestic demand for cassava starch above 300,000 tonnes, against local supply below 10,000 tonnes. The Nigeria Cassava Growers Association has said the country imports over 95% of the industrial starch it uses, and that starch selling above ₦200,000 a tonne shows how large the prize could be. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria put cassava by-product imports at $654 million in 2017. High-quality cassava flour tells the same story: demand of about 500,000 tonnes a year, with supply under 15,000 tonnes.

Ethanol: pharmaceuticals and beyond

NCIA estimates Nigeria's ethanol demand at about 400 million litres in 2024, with roughly three-quarters imported. Pharmaceutical and hygiene-product makers rely on ethanol as a solvent and base ingredient in medicines, alongside beverage producers, cosmetics firms and a possible fuel-blending market. PwC's earlier estimate is that a tonne of cassava yields about 166 litres of ethanol. On NCIA's numbers, replacing imports would take 1.8 to 2.0 million tonnes of cassava, about 3% of national output. Cassava-to-ethanol is already proven in Thailand and Vietnam.

What stands in the way

Yields are low: smallholders rarely exceed about 11 tonnes per hectare, and post-harvest losses are high.
Processors need steady volumes to a set specification, which the spot market cannot guarantee.
Unlike sugarcane molasses, cassava needs starch extraction and enzyme conversion before fermentation, so plants are capital-intensive.
NCIA calls for agro-processing incentives, infrastructure, long-term financing, and clear fuel-ethanol blending rules.

TWN view: Africa's food crops should feed African factories first. Turning cassava into starch, pharmaceutical-grade ethanol and flour at home would save foreign exchange, create jobs for smallholder farmers and move Nigeria closer to real economic independence.

TWN Reporter · Sources: NCIA (Lagos Business School), PwC Nigeria, BusinessDay, The Guardian. Some figures are from earlier years, as noted. Next week: Avocado.

HEALTH

1. Ebola watch: Nigeria tracks 53 contacts as new suspected cases test negative

Nigeria confirmed an imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola on 20 October, in a woman who had travelled from Uganda. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is monitoring 53 primary contacts, and earlier suspected cases in the FCT and Rivers State tested negative.

On Saturday, two further suspected cases were reported in the North-east and contact tracing began. Premium Times reported later that both tested negative, with no new cases in the country. NCDC has directed hospitals to isolate suspected cases without waiting for lab results.

TWN Reporter · Sources: NCDC, Premium Times, Sahara Reporters

POLITICS

2. Sowore attacked in Ekiti as campaigns heat up

Ekiti police say they have arrested 11 suspects over the attack on AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore in Ado-Ekiti. Police said he suffered minor injuries and was treated at the Police Hospital. Sowore has accused the police and the DSS of removing CCTV footage of the incident, and Atiku Abubakar accused the government of using thugs against opposition candidates. Civil society groups have condemned the violence.

Elsewhere on the trail, Peter Obi addressed a rally in Bayelsa, and Governor Seyi Makinde and his running mate will unveil their "Reset Nigeria Agenda" manifesto on 4 November.

TWN Reporter · Sources: Sahara Reporters, Naija News, Premium Times

SECURITY

3. Troops report 48 militants killed in Borno and Yobe

Operation Hadin Kai says its troops foiled attacks and killed 48 Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters in Borno and Yobe between 29 and 30 October. In Zamfara, police confirmed the rescue of three kidnapped Islamic clerics.

TWN Reporter · Sources: ThisDay, TheCable, Daily Nigerian

ECONOMY

4. ₦200bn for small businesses, Dangote eyes Africa, Oando output up 14%

President Tinubu says the Federal Government has approved ₦200 billion in support for small businesses and manufacturers. He also welcomed Airtel Nigeria's Open Network initiative and urged telecom operators to improve service quality.

Dangote has unveiled plans to expand its petroleum products distribution network across Africa. Oando says output rose 14% to 42,985 barrels of oil equivalent per day in nine months, and the NUPRC says domestic refineries received 127 million barrels of crude over the same period. Tinubu has also nominated six executive directors for the NMDPRA, and fintech OPay has listed on the NYSE.

TWN Reporter · Sources: TheCable, TVC News, State House

DIPLOMACY AND JUSTICE

5. New envoy in Pretoria; US court rejects bid to question Tinubu

Femi Fani-Kayode has assumed duties as Nigeria's High Commissioner to South Africa after presenting copies of his credentials. Separately, a US court denied a request to question President Tinubu over alleged cyberattacks in a FOIA case, and the FBI commended the EFCC for its role in an international sextortion crackdown.

TWN Reporter · Sources: Rio Times, Premium Times, State House

SPORTS

6. Flamingos face Venezuela in U-17 World Cup quarter-final

Nigeria's Flamingos, coached by Akeem Busari, play Venezuela in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco on Sunday, 1 November. Busari has warned his players not to underestimate the opposition. In Ekiti, several people were injured when the start-line gantry collapsed at the Ikogosi Marathon.

TWN Reporter · Sources: Naija News, Sahara Reporters

AFRICA WATCH

7. One Africa, one fight

Ebola deaths in DR Congo have passed 5,000, and drone strikes in Ethiopia killed 25 civilians this week. Whether it is disease, war or hunger, no African country faces these crises alone. TWN stands for an Africa that sees itself as one, with full economic independence for Congo, Sudan and every nation on the continent.

"Africa must unite or perish." Kwame Nkrumah

Quick bites

Nigeria recorded $1.57bn in diaspora remittances in Q2 2026, the highest in seven years.
Abia Governor Alex Otti says the state has repaid over ₦90bn of its ₦147.2bn debt.
Kano Governor Abba Yusuf reshuffled his cabinet and donated ₦100m toward a palace for the Oba Yoruba in Kano.
Visa card holders in Nigeria can now use Google Pay.
Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2026 is under way.

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■ TWN News · Author Spotlight Books by Larry Allen — 23 Titles Available Worldwide

From health and wellness to philosophy, fiction, children's stories, and the art of human connection — Larry Allen's remarkable catalogue of 23 published titles celebrates purposeful living and the richness of Nigerian identity.